Vocabulary in East of Eden

A quality of being deeply pleasing or beautiful in a way that stirs warm feeling; here used to describe the gentle, welcoming beauty of the sunlit mountain foothills.

Bright, cheerful, and full of light and life — an older sense of the word meaning lively and pleasant, with no reference to sexuality.

A distinct thread or trace of a particular quality running through a person's character, the way a vein of color runs through stone.

A creature — or here, a person — that hunts and exploits others for its own gain, treating them as prey rather than as human beings.

Formed in an abnormal or distorted way, so that the body's shape is wrong or grotesque compared with what is considered normal.

Painful, exhausting physical struggle; in this passage it refers specifically to the agonizing physical ordeal of childbirth.

Completely still and controlled, without trembling or wavering — used here to show that Cathy feels no fear or hesitation as she points the gun.

Showing no emotion, warmth, or depth of feeling — used of eyes or a voice that reveals nothing human behind them.

A state of being so mentally and emotionally numbed that a person can barely think, feel, or function — close to a waking trance caused by shock or grief.

A specific English version of the Bible published in 1901, known for its effort at word-for-word accuracy; the novel contrasts its wording of a key verse with that of the older King James Version.

The King James Version of the Bible, published in 1611, whose majestic English phrasing the novel contrasts with later translations to argue about free will versus command.

To completely overcome or defeat something — here used in the sense of being commanded to conquer sin, as if it were an enemy that must be beaten.

The religious belief that God has already decided in advance what will happen to every person, so that human choices cannot truly change one's fate.

Smaller religious groups that have broken away from or exist separately within a larger faith tradition, each following its own particular set of beliefs or practices.

The act of following a command or rule without question; here it describes the stance of people who read the Bible's instruction as an order they must simply carry out.

A Hebrew word from the story of Cain and Abel, translated in the novel as 'thou mayest,' meaning a person is free to choose whether to overcome sin — it is neither a command nor a promise, but an offer of freedom.

A story that stands for something far larger than its literal events — a tale whose characters and actions represent universal truths about all human beings, not just the people in the story.

A feeling of intense disgust or hatred so strong it is almost physical — a deep revulsion toward a person or thing.

Resembling the withdrawn, disciplined life of a monk in a monastery — cut off from ordinary pleasures and social life in pursuit of purity or spiritual safety.

Done mainly to be seen and judged by others rather than felt sincerely — behavior or speech that is a display rather than a genuine expression of feeling.

To gather or collect something with great effort, bit by bit, often from limited or difficult sources — usually said of money or resources that are hard to come by.

The act of signing up again for military service after one's original term of duty has ended, choosing to remain a soldier rather than return to civilian life.

To undo the act of knowing something — to make a piece of knowledge disappear from one's mind; used here to stress that once a terrible truth is learned, it cannot be forgotten or taken back.

An empty outer form with nothing real left inside — used here to describe a person who has had all her genuine warmth and identity drained away by someone else's need.

The act of rejecting something that has been offered; in this passage it carries the weight of a moral wound, as though turning down a gift of love is an act of destruction.